State wrestling: Prieto twins, Jansen notch Day 1 wins for Holy Family

All three Tigers victories come via pin

Daniel Jansen, right, works his way toward a pin of Buena Vista's Antonio Navarette on Day 1 of the state wrestling tournament on Thursday at the Denver Pepsi Center.
(
MARK LEFFINGWELL
)

DENVER -- If Holy Family's state-title hopeful twins Julian and Joseph Prieto are competing with one another on parallel championship quests, getting caught in the crossfire early on at the state tournament is a bad place to be.

On Thursday at the Pepsi Center, both Prieto brothers marked the first steps on their paths through their Class 3A brackets with first-round pins. Both Tigers sophomores showed their experience from last year, when each were state placers as freshmen.

"It felt good. The first match is one of the most important matches we have," said Julian Prieto, who also said he didn't know his first-round opponent's name and didn't care. "It decides whether you're going to have to fight the entire way back through everything."

Julian Prieto pressed the issue right away against Johnston. He tested a shot on Johnston, who sprawled to defense. When Johnston took the offensive in response, Julian Prieto caught him in a cradle and scored back points before the two went out of bounds.

Shortly after restarting, Julian Prieto found a half nelson and finished Johnston. Mirroring his twin brother's confident aggression, Joseph Prieto won his match in much the same way Julian did.

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"I just went in there wanting to finish and just make it through the day," Joseph Prieto said. "I've been pinning most of my kids this season but it's the win that really matters, not how you get it. Having a strong first match keeps me focused and helps me warm up better."

Holy Family head coach Joe Domko said both Prieto twins have looked to him like "thoroughbreds in the gate" and described their starts as "excellent." Once their glasses come off, Domko said, both Joseph and Julian have been all business at the end of the season.

"They're proceeding on this journey just as we had anticipated," Domko said. "Momentum is everything if you want to go all the way at state. There's that sense of urgency with those kind of kids. They sense Saturday night but they're experienced enough to know, 'Don't think Saturday night. Don't mess around. Get through this round.'"

Also for the Tigers, senior Daniel Jansen pinned Buena Vista's Antonio Navarette in 3:01 to open the 3A 220-pound bracket. While there were no early surprises for the Prieto twins or Jansen, Tigers sophomore 113-pounder Vincent Casados lost a 2-1 decision to Lamar's Michael Johnson.

Casados fell behind 2-0 early. Once he scored an escape, neither he nor Domko felt any nervousness since he is a proficient top wrestler. Casados took control and tried to turn Johnson for the pin the way he had so many opponents this season. He nearly did but Johnson held out long enough to reach the buzzer.

"I thought we were fine and there were a couple instances when the ref almost counted so I didn't see any panic," Domko said. "To that young man's credit, there was a time when I saw his scapula and I thought, 'Oh, man.'"

The Class 3A quarterfinals will begin at 10 a.m. on Friday and the first round of the consolation bracket will begin immediately following the completion of the quarterfinals. Semifinals are at 7:15 p.m. Friday.

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